Children in Haiti have been facing increasing violations of their rights in recent months, as the country is witnessing unprecedented levels of brutality and lawlessness at the hands of armed elements. The armed violence in Haiti keeps intensifying and the UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, Virginia Gamba, warns that children are at the heart of the crisis and are particularly vulnerable to armed gangs who are trying to control and terrorize communities. The recent spike in hostilities includes the massacre in Pont Sonde where children have been reported killed.
As in every crisis, children are particularly vulnerable as the social fabric and basic services, including education, are being disrupted. Armed gangs have targeted hospitals, health centres and schools in Port-au-Prince and beyond. So far this year, over 300,000 children have lost out on learning, with schools being closed, attacked, or repurposed as temporary shelters for displaced people.
“Children are being used by armed gangs in Haiti and we are witnessing some recent troubling trends, notably the use of sexual violence, including rape and collective rape, as a weapon of war by gangs. I call on all actors to ensure that children are protected from violence, including sexual violence, and clashes and that they are not involved in hostilities,” said Virginia Gamba.
The recent trends in Haiti concerning sexual violence against children, particularly girls, are deeply alarming with a more than 1000% increase in 2024 compared to 2023 according to verified UN figures.
Around 2.7 million people, including 1.6 million women and children, live in areas controlled by armed gangs. The UN estimates that between a third and a half of armed gang members are children, meaning under the age of 18. The Special Representative urges all actors and those who can influence to do everything to prevent grave violations against children and calls on all actors to immediately release any children and hand them over to civilian child protection actors.
The Special Representative further asks for the urgent provision of safe and unhindered humanitarian access to enable the provision of life-saving and essential services, including health services and education, and expresses her concern over the humanitarian impact of the current developments especially on children.
The Special Representative echoes the urgent calls to increase voluntary contributions towards the UN-administered Trust fund, allowing for the continued and fast deployment of the Multinational Support Mission, as authorized by the Security Council, to address the security needs of the Haitian people, including children.
Note to editors
The UN Security Council renewed the Multinational Security Support (MSS) mission to Haiti for 12 months in September 2024.
* The six grave violations as identified by the United Nations Security Council are: recruitment and use, killing and maiming, rape and other forms of sexual violence, attacks on schools and hospitals, abduction, and denial of humanitarian access.
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For more information, please contact:
Ariane Lignier, Communications Officer, Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict: ariane.lignier@un.org
Fabienne Vinet, Political Affairs Officer, Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict: vinet@un.org
